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December 30, 2004 Patrick Antosh spent his Christmas holidays in Puerto Vallarta again this year and asked his webmasters to pass on a message thanking fans who have taken time to visit the site and make comments (both positive and negative), and wishing everyone a safe holiday season. To read the complete message and see a snapshot of Patrick lying on the beach, visit patrickantosh.com/. Sherry Miller and a number of extras have been added to the guest list for the 2005 Queer As Fans convention in Toronto, taking place January 21 to 23. For more information visit the official website. "Looking to heat up a couple of cold January nights? How about a helping of hot-blooded vengeance?" That's the opening to the TV Guide cover story this week, "Saintly Lives," about the new mini-series "Lives of the Saints" airing on CTV this Sunday, January 2nd at 9pm, and continuing on Monday at 8pm. The film stars Sophia Loren, Nick Mancuso and Kris Kristofferson, as well as rising young actors Jessica Paré and Fabrizio Filippo (ex-Ethan, QAF). Fab says the movie is about identity. "People should be themselves and try to find out how to do that in their own world." Paré says working with Sophia Loren was exciting and unnerving. Describing a scene she did with the screen legend, she says, "I was walking in, and I couldn't find the position that I was supposed to stand in. So, she grabbed me by the shoulders and put me in the right position and just continued on with the scene like nothing happened. I was like 'Oh my God, Sophia Loren just manhandled me!'" LOL
"2004 was another fantastic year for East Coast music and for music fans in general," reports chartattack.com. The Top Ten List of Atlantic Canadian Musical Happenings in 2004 includes this tidbit: Halifax darlings Wintersleep record the follow-up to their 2003 smash (due out in February 2005), conduct a couple of marathon tours to Ontario and back and film a hip-yet-controversial video for their song "Sore," which was featured during an episode of Queer As Folk. With a Season 5 premiere date still months away, here is some good news for the QAF collectors out there. 10percent.com is now accepting pre-orders for the complete fourth season on DVD and VHS (direct link). The site says, "this product is a prebook and will be available 04/05/05. If you prebook now, you will receive $40.00 in Queer As Folk gifts including a limited edition poster and an assortment of cast magnets." 10percent asks that you register as a member first, before ordering. For those outside the United States, remember that the price will be in American dollars, and the packaging of the DVDs will be different than the Canadian/Showcase ones. Other sites currently offering preorders are TLA Video and Wolfe Video.
From An interview with director Joel
Schumacher at PlanetOut.com, by Jenny Stewart: JS: Yes, what a dubious achievement! [Laughs.] PO: Well, it kind of is, actually! So what was it when you first met him that clicked with you or made you so ... intrigued? JS: It's an interesting story. When I was casting "Tigerland," I decided to go with all unknowns. I was in London on other business -- the "Queer as Folk" people wanted me to do the American version of it. PO: Really? You were going to do "Queer as Folk"? JS: Yes. I was in London meeting with the creator and the Channel 4 people, and I said to our casting director in the States, 'Listen, I'm in London, I may as well meet with some of the young talent here for "Tigerland" while I'm here,' because they always have such great young talent. So we read, I think, 44 young actors in three days, but no one really stuck out. Colin was the last person, and he came bursting through the door and, I don't know how to explain it, but he just filled the room with personality. Was he good-looking? Yes, but there is the X quotient that is just hard to explain. So I always resort to Miss Piggy on this subject: Some pigs got it and some pigs don't. (Interesting note: Colin Farrell was in the movie "A Home At The End Of The World," along with Harris Allan, who plays Hunter on QAF; the two actors are apparently good friends and have spent time together in Toronto and Vancouver) "Fade to Black in Canada's Film Work" is an article published in The New York Times today, discussing how the rise of Canada, in particular Toronto, as a production site for Hollywood films and television series has long been a political issue in Hollywood and elsewhere in the United States. "But a variety of factors, led by the soaring value of the Canadian dollar, have given Canada a runaway film production problem of its own," the article states. Although the dollar is the biggest issue, it is just one of many problems for the Canadian film industry. "We call it the perfect storm," said Mr. Ferguson of the Toronto Film Studios. "It's really not just one factor alone." Production work for feature films like "Chicago" or TV series like "The West Wing" attracts attention, but does not represent the bulk of Canada's film production industry. That largely rests on unheralded, made-for-TV movies and dramatic series shown on cable channels. Patrick F. Whitley, a producer and owner of a film production house, said the rise of reality TV, a low-cost and very popular type of programming, has devastated both the TV-movie and dramatic-series categories. "Our volume of foreign service production has declined drastically," said Mr. Whitley, whose company, Temple Street Productions, is co-producer of the series "Queer as Folk" in Toronto with the Warner Brothers unit of Time Warner and the Showtime Network, a cable channel. "U.S. networks are focused on reality series and doing them at home."
Although the news has been out on the 'net for a while now, People magazine reports that "Rosie O'Donnell will join Showtime's Queer As Folk in its new season, playing a character who has eyes for the super mom played by Sharon Gless, according to industry sources." There is a photo of Rosie posing with costume designer Patrick Antosh on the news page of his website, although Patrick was being hush-hush about why the former talk show host was in Toronto. Cat's out of the bag! In his new blog entry, Hal Sparks tells us why he's not a fan of 'tolerance.'In the " Best of the Year" issue of The Advocate, QAF and HBO's Six Feet Under are tied for the last spot in "Top 10 TV Moments." The two shows are described as "the originals, and still dependable." :)From Travel Headlines comes "The Rainbow Nation (Gay Britain): "If you ever wondered how gay Britain is, you just have to know that a Queen rules over us all. Britain’s rainbow nation is more diverse than ever, thanks to the combination of a tolerant populace, vocal gay community and forward-thinking government. And never has there been a better time to experience it all." The article continues, "Formerly known primarily as an industrial city, Manchester has transformed itself over the past decade into a magical metropolis. The hit TV series Queer As Folk was originally set in the city’s Gay Village along Canal Street and has experienced a boom in gay culture ever since. Five-star dining spots and hotels have moved in to grab a slice of the action - The Lowry Hotel is now considered one of the chicest addresses in the land."
The December 2004 issue of Australian magazine "DNA" features an interview with Gale Harold titled, "The Life Of Brian." You can read it here. In an interview published December 8th in the New York Daily News, B.D. Wong talks to writer Rebecca Louie about the struggle for Asian-American actors in Hollywood. Here's an excerpt:"You can name, probably on one hand, the series regulars who are on network television," says Wong. For that reason, Wong has turned to independent film and is currently in postproduction for "Social Grace," about an Asian-American woman who falls for an affluent white man (played by Gale Harold). It's also his debut as a director. The cast includes Margaret Cho, with whom he worked in 1994 on the Asian-American family sitcom "All-American Girl." However, Wong, who recently split with his partner, Richie Jackson, is aware that discrimination extends beyond racial lines. "The unfortunate misunderstanding right now that gay people are not spiritual or good people is very sad to me," says the actor, who, with Jackson, has a son, Jackson Foo Wong, via a surrogate mother. "People say that all people are equal and they love their neighbor and that we should all respect one another's differences," he says. "In principle. "But when someone vehemently points out that they could burn in Hell for thinking that, it changes their vote." Wong has been busy, performing in a musical eight times a week, filming "Law & Order," and wrapping up Social Grace. The LA Times writes, "A romantic comedy about an Asian American woman's romance with New York's most eligible, wealthy bachelor -- think JFK Jr., Wong suggests -- "Social Grace" was often being re-shot during the same period "Pacific Overtures" was in previews. Rushing back and forth between shooting on Madison Avenue and performing a few miles away at the 54th Street theater, Wong says, "I'd be in the cab, asking myself, 'Well, what am I obsessing about at this very moment?' Later I'd find myself lying in bed, pingponging back and forth between the two things."It looks like Carlo Rota (Gardner Vance) may be reprising his role as "Papa Joe" Yakavetta in the sequel to The Boondock Saints (All Saints Day).This Thursday, Hal Sparks will serve as guest host for the Air America radio show Unfiltered (December 23 from 9am to 12pm). You can listen live on the Air America website. The Hal Sparks band will be performing at The Roxy Theatre on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood on New Year's Eve, along with METAL SKOOL, Bullets and Octane, and Time is the Enemy. Show starts at 9pm, doors open at 8pm. Call (310) 278-9457 for pricing packages. Hal will be doing stand-up at Caroline's in NYC, January 6th to 9th. He will be providing commentary for VH1's I Love The 90's: Part Deux!, which will begin airing January 17th.Patrick Antosh, QAF's costume designer, is putting his knowledge of Toronto nightlife to good use, writing a regular column for the new quarterly magazine Scenester, discussing fashion, politics and the club scene. Check out Patrick's news page to find out what else he's been up to lately, and to see pictures of him with various QAF stars at their Christmas party.
The Sundance channel is showing Particles of Truth on the following dates:
In addition to the guests I listed a few days ago,
Jupak.com has posted an interview with |
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